Home sales in May 2023 declined from the number sold in May the previous year but single-family home prices remained high.
“The market has been active into June with competing offers and new listings are getting lots of attention,” said Neil Frost, president of the Powell River Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board. “We will see how interest rate hikes affect this, if at all.”
In the single-family homes category, in May 2023, there were 25 homes sold, valued at $19,644,097, compared to 30 homes sold in May 2022, valued at $21,022,400.
There were no mobiles or manufactured homes sold in May 2023, compared to four, valued at $1,300,500, in May 2022.
In the condos, apartments and duplexes category, there were two units sold in May 2023, valued at $1,370,000, compared to four units, valued at $2,288,000, in May 2022.
Totals for residential indicate 27 units sold, valued at $21,014,077, in May 2023, compared to 38 units sold, valued at $24,610,900 in May 2022.
On the non-residential side, there were three parcels of vacant land sold in May 2023, valued at $1,240,000. In May 2022, there were five parcels of vacant land sold, valued at $11,359,000.
In the industrial, commercial and institutional category, in May 2023, there was one unit sold, valued at $152,000, compared to one unit in May 2022, valued at $525,000.
Totals for non-residential were four units sold, valued at $1,392,000 in May 2023, compared to six units sold, valued at $11,884,000, in May 2022.
Grand totals for all sales show 31 units, valued at $22,406,077 in May 2023, compared to 44 units, valued at $36,494,900, in May 2022.
Average value of a single-family home in May 2023 was $785,763, with an average of 44 days on the market. Average value of a single-family family home in May 2022 was $700,747, with an average of 20 days on the market.
The Powell River – Sunshine Coast buyer profile indicates that in May 2023, 10 buyers were local and 13 were out of area purchasers. Year-to-date, 41.8 per cent of buyers were local and 58.2 per cent were out of area. Of those purchases, 20 were for a principal residence.
For those of known location, one buyer was from the lower Sunshine Coast, four were from Vancouver Island, six were from the Lower Mainland, three were from the rest of BC and one was from Canada, but outside of BC.
CREA report
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $660,831, a decline of 5.1 per cent from the first five months of 2022.
In terms of new residential listings, there were 69 for May 2023, with 150 active listings at the end of the month. For non-residential, there were 11 new listings for May 2023, with 66 active listings at the end of the month. There were a total of 216 active listings for residential and non-residential at the end of May 2023.
According to the CREA, home sales were 20.6 per cent below the five-year average and 24.8 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of May.
BCREA report
British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports the average MLS residential price in BC was $1.02 million, up three per cent compared to May 2022. Total sales dollar volume was $9.4 billion, representing a 13.2 per cent increase from the same time last year.
“Home sales in May were surprisingly strong,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson. “Normally we’d expect to see a more persistent, negative impact from the last year of rising interest rates on sales. Instead, sales staged an early recovery in the spring returning to a normal pace of sales well ahead of schedule.”
The average home price in BC has now recovered much of the decline over the past year and is now back over $1 million for the first time since April 2022.
Powell River Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board is a regional professional association representing 42 realtors. The board serves the qathet region from Saltery Bay to Lund, Texada Island, Savary Island and the coast up to Desolation Sound.
